With the cost of Nokia's debt rising, the most bearish of analysts in a Reuters poll said the company could even be at risk of default if it fails to slow the burning of its cash.
Over the past five quarters, the onetime darling of mobile telecoms has eroded its cash pile by 2.1 billion euros ($2.7 billion) - a rate that would wipe out its entire 4.9 billion euros reserves in a couple years.
Analysts on average expect the company will burn through almost 2 billion euros more in just three quarters, while the most bearish see the company wiping out its 4.9 billion euros net cash buffer completely next year, a Reuters poll of 30 banks and brokerages showed on Friday.
Nokia, which once ruled the mobile phone roost, was wrongfooted by the rise of smartphones. And while it may have hoped the iPhone phenomenon was close to running its course, Apple Inc last month said quarterly profit had almost doubled in the first quarter of 2012, quieting talk that its days of sharp growth were over.
Meanwhile Nokia's response to the iPhone, the Lumia, has not so far demonstrated it can compete.
Sources:
Reuters
Yahoo! News
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